


Of Love and Assignments

by Warden_Sigma



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, Mild Language, Sexual References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-04-18 02:19:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4688792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warden_Sigma/pseuds/Warden_Sigma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two of the best students in an Engineering class, Pearl and Peridot, are put together to complete a group assigment.</p><p>Pearl thinks that her partner, Peridot, is abrasive and unpleasant.</p><p>She didn't think she'd ever start liking her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Abrasive

**Author's Note:**

> Word of Warning: I have no idea what entails an Engineering course, having only studied Game Design and bits of Art and Animation. Forgive my lack of knowledge in those regards.
> 
> Also, there will be a smut chapter, of which I'll post seperately (maybe. Depends how lazy I get).
> 
> [Note: Chapter 8 is NSFW.]

Pearl disliked group assignments.

It's not that she disliked anyone in her class, it's just that she didn't really _know_ anyone in her class. And, of course, relying on often-incompetent teammates who didn't understand the first thing about mechanical engineering.

But, alas, she had to weather it. A solid 30% of her marks depended on it.

The teacher at the front started organising the pairs, seemingly at random. Although, considering who was being paired up, it could not have been.

"... And that leaves Pearl Chevalier and Peridot Nakamura."

Ah. Peridot.

Pearl didn't know her that well, but she knew she was both exceptional at her work and socially withdrawn. She also knew she lived in the Diamond dorm building, which by default had a sort of rivalry with her own Crystal dorm, usually friendly but sometimes borders on hostile. Diamond, in Pearl's opinion, was not as refined as Crystal, and tended to have a lack of respect for regulations.

If the almost constant sound of parties from the complex interrupting her much-needed sleep were anything to go by.

"Alright, form up into your pairs, and I'll hand you your assignment sheets."

Looking over to the black-haired girl, she could see that she wasn't going to move any time soon, tapping away at a green-cased phone. With a resigning groan, she scooped up her own gear and moved to the other side of the class.

"Hello, Peridot."

"Hello." The girl replied coldly.

An awkward silence followed. Pearl just _knew_ Peridot was silently judging her.

"So, what are you studying?" Peridot asked, not even looking up from her phone.

"Oh, my major is Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in Astronomy." Pearl replied smugly. "What are you studying?"

"Mechatronics Engineering."

Silence, which thankfully was interrupted by the teacher walking to each group, handing out copies of the assignment. "If you have any questions, just raise your hand, I'll be there in a flash."

Once a sheet was handed to her, Pearl scanned the document with trained eyes. 

"Ugh."

Pearl turned to Peridot. "Something the matter?"

"It's an oral presentation." Peridot sneered at the document. "I hate those."

"Really? I'm quite fond of them myself." A half-lie, really.

"Yeah, that's cuz you're a snobby Crystal show-off."

"Wha-? I am not!" Pearl crossed her arms. "And really, we've only talked for all of one minute and you're already hurling insults like... Like, well, a Diamond dorm monkey!"

Peridot shot a glare at Pearl, putting her phone away. "Oh, like you're making a better example, you clod."

"Why you little-!" Pearl started, before a hand touched her shoulder.

"Alright, you two, settle down." The smooth voice of the teacher halted their bickering, as she shifted to a nearby seat. "You don't want to embarrass yourselves in front of the class."

Pearl spared a glance backwards, noticing quite an uncomfortable amount of eyes looking back at her.

"Sorry, Miss- Uh, Sardonyx- Miss Sardonyx..." Peridot fumbled, retreating into her green hoodie a little.

'It's fine, just try to keep it down." She smiled her toothy smile. "Now, do you two have any questions?"

Pearl raised a hand. "I'm pretty clear on our task, but... Why did you pair me up with..." She tilts her head slightly towards Peridot.

"Well, you two are the best students in this class, and I didn't want either of your marks being weakened by someone less skilled." She shrugged. "I mean, it was much better in my head, but still. You two are both brilliant and dedicated, and I thought you would make a superb team."

"Well, thank you." Pearl smiled. She always did enjoy praise from her teachers.

"That answers my question." Peridot quietly added.

"Is that all you want to know?" Miss Sardonyx asked, tilting her head slightly.

"No, that's all." Pearl replied. Peridot merely grunted.

"Alright, well, best of luck to you two." She stood up and moved onto another pair.

Pearl let out a long sigh. "Well, I guess we should put aside what differences we have, and get this project done to the best of our abilities."

Peridot grunted a reply. "Do you have an email address and/or phone number we can use to talk?"

Pearl started reaching for Peridot's phone. "Sure thing, let me-" Peridot snapped her phone away and let out a feral hiss. "Oookay, let me just... write it down instead."

* * *

"Wait, seriously?"

Pearl took a long breath in. "Amethyst, this is literally the third time I've said it. I'm working on a group assignment with this Peridot woman."

"Yeah, I got that, but... Really? You two?"

"Trust me, I'm not happy about it either." Pearl took a sip of her tea. "She's just... Abrasive."

"Hey, I know. Or at least Jasper does."

"Your cousin?"

"Yeah, she lives in the same dorm as Peri and another girl I can't remember the name of."

"Small world." Pearl remarked.

"But hey, you two are both complete and utter dorks, you should get along fine."

"I highly doubt-" A small buzzing interrupted her. She flipped out her phone and noticed a text from an unknown number, fortunately announcing themself as Peridot. 

"Peri?"

"Indeed." Pearl frowned a little. "At least she's timely."

"No surprises there." Amethyst took a large bite of the burger in her hands. "Which reminds me, Garnet's hosting a party at her folk's place in a month. You free?"

"Hmm... I'll need an actual date, but I should be free. After all, Garnet is one of my oldest friends, it'd be rude not to at least appear."

"Awesome." She finished off what remained of her burger in one fell swoop. "Anyway, I've got a boring lecture to go to, I'll leave you and Nerdimus Prime to do whatever."

"Thank you." Pearl replied through gritted teeth.

* * *

Apparently, Peridot had tracked down her Facebook. Not a big surprise.

A quick accept later, the two were linked through the wonders of the internet.

_Pearl: I assume this will be a better way of communication for you?_

_Peridot: or skype but you prob dont have it_

Pearl rubbed her temples. Of course she wrote like that.

_Pearl: Well, what should we start with?_

_Peridot: reserch is good. gotta start with that before we do the powerpoint_

_Peridot: *research_

_Peridot: damn roomies here gotta go_

And just like that, Peridot was offline.

Pearl groaned. This was going to be a long project.


	2. Forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy damn, I am on a roll! Two chapters in one day!
> 
> Of course, it's now 11PM and I have a sleep schedule to maintain, so as much as I'd love to write Chapter 3 tonight I'll have to wait until tomorrow.
> 
> Also, once again. I have no idea how an Engineering degree works so forgive me.

_I think we should meet in person_

Pearl stared at the text, and the following ones giving the time and location. A slow mist was rolling through, being the middle of Fall, and she was wrapped in a scarf and nice warm coat. "She couldn't meet me _inside_ the cafe?"

Eventually, the sound of footsteps resounded, and her partner appeared out of the mist, a dull blue glow illuminating her annoyed face. However, her expression relaxed a little upon seeing Pearl. "Thought I'd recognise that nose anywhere."

Pearl sighed, the air coiling around. "And a hearty hello to you too. Any reason you decided to meet out here instead of inside?"

Peridot shrugged. 

"Of course." The two of them started making their way towards the cafe, only visible because of a dull glow and many trips to it in clearer weather. "So, Peridot..."

"Mhm?" Peridot was once again fixated on her screen.

"Why did you decide to study Mechatronics?"

"Why do you wanna know?" She snapped back.

"I'm just trying to know you a bit better. It's hard to work together if we're at each others' throats all the time."

"Hm, true." After a second she put her phone away. "I guess I'm just lazy."

"But... You're studying."

"Yeah, studying how to make _robots_ , so they can do some of the more mundane things while I play videogames and let my robot patents bring in the money for me." She shrugged. "Or something, maybe I just want... I dunno." She turned to Pearl. "So why Astronomy?"

Pearl looked up a little. "I guess, I just want to go to the stars. Ever since I was little I wanted to stand on the moon and look back at the Earth, and just..." She sighed. "It's a silly dream, but I am still enchanted by the mystery and beauty of the stars."

"Heh, I know that feeling. Albeit from _Elite: Dangerous_ , but still." Peridot pushed the cafe door open. 

Pearl thanked her and stepped inside, revelling in the newfound warmth and homing into a free table. "There we go, this should work nicely. I'll go get us some drinks."

"Hot chocolate, please." Peridot slides into one of the seats. "I'll get my own food."

It doesn't take long for their drinks to be done. Pearl sips her coffee gingerly as she looks over Peridot's research. "Hm. Not bad."

"'Not bad'?"

"You've left out a couple of important things, and you have some unneccessary facts too."

"What? No I didn't!" Peridot frowned. "I'm 100% sure I've got everything for my part."

Pearl chuckled, almost condescendingly. "Oh Peridot. Here." She shifted her own laptop to Peridot. "I made sure to do that work as well."

After a long read, Peridot let out a snicker. "You clod. You don't need that bit about hydraulics."

"Eheh, yes I do."

"No, you don't. This presentation isn't about hydraulics. It's about social impacts of certain technological advancements."

"I have to assume the reader has **no** idea what hydraulics are."

"Well that's dumb. We're presenting it to a class of Engineering students, remember?"

"Oh please, only half the class knows what hydraulics are, at best."

"You really don't know people, do you?"

"And you do, miss shut-in?"

"Years of RPG experiences have given me enough to work with."

"That is not a valid excuse."

"Better than whatever you have."

Pearl growled, before taking a deep breath. "Okay, I think that'll do. We should just get to working."

"Fine..." Peridot crossed her arms. "Clod."

* * *

"Sup nerd?" A great mass of blonde hair blocked Peridot's vision.

"Jasper!" She ducked to the side, controller clacking like mad. "I told you not to do that while I'm in the middle of a game!"

"Ugh, fine." Jasper flicked her hair back up and took a seat next to her. "I thought you beat this one, like, seven times already."

"This is my stress-releasing game."

"Yeah, but seven times?"

"I get stressed a lot, no thanks to you."

"Whatever." Jasper sighed. "So how was working with Pointy?"

Peridot growled loudly, just as her avatar took a whopping great big spear to their chest. "Damnit! I nearly had it!"

"So... Not that good?"

"No..." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "We work fine, we just argue too much. She... She just doesn't see me very highly at all."

"I think that may have something to do wi-mmf!" Jasper shouted as her mouth was covered by a hand.

"Jasper, I think you have some homework to work on," A blue-haired woman interrupted. "Let me talk to Peridot."

Jasper removed the hand with some force, and with a sigh stood up and made her way to her room. "Fine. Have fun, you two."

"Thanks for that, Lapis." Peridot sighed, putting the controller aside. 

"Jasper means well, but... well, she's a little blunt." Lapis shrugged, brushing her dress a little as she sat down. "So, any dramas you want to talk about?"

"It's my partner, Pearl. She's uptight and rude, thinks I'm always wrong."

"Always?"

"... Okay, maybe only sometimes. But she doesn't respect me at all."

"Look, I know it may seem like that, but trust me when I say it'll calm down as you two get to know each other more."

"You say that, but I hate to remind you what happened between-"

"-Between us, I know. But we found out more about each other because of that, although it hurt."

"Valid point." Peridot conceded. 

"My point is, you two will find your equilibrium. Especially if you try not to be so rude to Pearl."

"But she makes it so easy."

Lapis sighed. "Peri, please. You shouldn't berate her that much, and besides, if you somehow can't work together any better, it won't be forever."

* * *

"Wha...?" Pearl raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"My parents shifted their date to earlier." Garnet pushed her shades up a little. "So I have to shift the party to earlier."

"But... I won't have my assignment done by then. You know I don't like going to parties when I have work to do!"

"It's not my choice." Garnet shrugged. "Besides, you two will be much closer to being ready than normal, you can have a day to relax between then."

"Still, it doesn't feel quite right." Pearl replied. "Besides, what if Jasper drags Peridot along? That could be... awkward."

Garnet didn't say anything.

"Which reminds me, I have to finish my part of the research, I'm a bit behind on that."

"Only because you did Peridot's research as well." Garnet crossed her arms.

"That's because-! Uh..."

"You don't trust her, do you?"

"She's... Friends with Jasper! And lives in the Diamond dormatory. You know that's not a good combination."

"So you think Peridot, whom you _know_ excells at her class, is not as good of you because of where she lives and who she knows?"

"I..." Pearl faltered.

Garnet sighed. "I recommend you think a little more on how you treat Peridot."

"Yeah," Amethyst butted in. "And even if you don't like her, it ain't gonna be forever."

Pearl remained silent, but her mind was loud.


	3. Privacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I managed to finish my monthy jobsearching thing, so I'm in the clear (sort of) until next month. Yay.

"... So that's why I think that argument would work better than yours."

Pearl so desperately wanted to disagree. But she had to admit, Peridot had a strong point. "Okay, I can see your point."

"Really?" Peridot looked surprised and ever-so-slightly joyous. "I thought you'd just outright disagree."

"Believe me, I do." Pearl chuckled. "But your point is valid, maybe moreso than my own."

"W-well, you have some good arguments too." She seemed a little flustered, eyes glancing aside and a hand behind her head. "Some of which is compatible with mine."

"I actually think we're gaining some ground here." Pearl twirled her laptop around, rapidly transferring notes to it. 

"You do know we're well ahead of schedule, right?" Peridot leaned a little forwards. 

"Gives you plenty of time to get over your nerves about the presentation itself."

"Ah, yes." Peridot looked irate. "That part."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Pearl placed a hand on her shoulder. Peridot blushed a slight amount. "And I'll be there to help you."

"Heh, thanks."

* * *

"Aww, you two like each other!" Amethyst squealed obnoxiously.

"How could you even come to that conclusion?" Pearl crossed her arms, looking squarely at the small girl crawling over the couch. "I am simply trying to be a better person to her, nothing more."

"But you do know that Peri's, like, super-gay, right?"

"Amethyst, I'm _also_... super-gay, to use your phrasing, and yet I'm not making any moves on her or anything."

"Whatevs." Amethyst waved her off. "You're like still in love with Rose or something?"

"W-what?" Pearl took a step back. "No! She and Greg are together, married and with child. How could I still be infatuated with her?" She sighed. "Besides, I don't like Peridot in that way."

"You sure about that?"

"Of course!"

"You absoluuuuuutely sure?" Amethyst leaned closer, threatening to fall over.

"Ame-"

"Enough, you two." Garnet announced, emerging from her room, looking like she just woke up. A look of annoyance etched her face. 

"S-sorry, Garnet!" Pearl raised her hands. "I didn't know you were still here."

"I slept in." Garnet put on her trademark shades, instantly switching to her more stoic nature. "I blame you, Amethyst."

"Hey, it's not my fault Gears of War sucks."

"No, you just suck at it."

* * *

"So," Miss Sardonyx started, taking a seat next to Pearl and Peridot. "How's the project coming along."

"It's going surprisingly well." Pearl replied, smiling.

"Surprisingly?"

"Pearl and I were at each others' throats for a bit." Peridot added, not looking up from her phone. "Certain... disagreeances on our lifestyles."

"But we're well past that now." Pearl butted in. "So our project is well ahead of schedule."

"Oh, excellent!" Sardonyx beamed. "Keep up the good work."

As she left, Pearl turned to Peridot. "Peridot, I've been meaning to ask..."

"Mhm?"

"Why are you always on your phone?" 

"I have a bunch of friends online I try and keep in contact with frequently." Peridot kept her eyes on the phone, which Pearl only just noticed was using an Android operating system. Kind of appropriate considering her usual cold, robotic nature.

"I see..." 

For some reason lost to her, Pearl actually decided to spend the time looking at Peridot in detail. The woman had, for someone her size, surprisingly long fingers, and wide feet. Normally her hands would be covered in gloves, but the one on her right hand was removed so she could use the phone. Her jeans were slightly worn, and over what she could assume was a pop-culture-referencing shirt was a large green hoodie. Thick, green-trimmed glasses framed the woman's large and tired eyes. Her hair, a shiny black, was partially tied up at the back, and the rest was fairly unruly. 

Clearly a woman who spends too much time playing games to keep her appearance to a reasonable standard.

In contrast, Pearl often kept herself as neat, tidy and preferably symmetrical as possible. Her own red hair was as straight as possible and even on both sides, coming down to just under her chin in length. Her neatly-pressed blue sleeveless shirt was covered by a simple black jacket, kept immaculately clean with constant brushing of her shoulder. Her knee-length skirt was just as clean and neat as the rest of her.

Peridot spared a glance to Pearl. "You're staring."

"W-wha..?" Pearl snapped out of her observational trance. "Sorry, just got caught up in my own mind."

"I know that feel. Still, make sure you're looking away from someone when you do that."

"I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Pearl bolted to the door as soon as she heard a knock on it. "Coming~!"

She was just a little surprised when she saw Peridot standing on the other side, holding a bag of snack food and another bag slung over her back.

"P-Peridot! How can I help?"

Peridot rubbed the back of her neck sheepisly. "Uh... Jasper and her friends are having a party and I can't sleep through those... C-can I borrow your couch for the night?"

Pearl blinked.

***

_Fifteen minutes ago..._

"Jasper!"

"Woah, take it easy there, Doritos." 

"'Take it easy'? Jasper, you know I like being given a two-day warning about these parties of yours!"

"Hey, one of my friends just passed one of their assignments and I was more than willing to host their party."

"You clod! Now I have to pack up the computer so some shit-faced idiot doesn't smash it. _And_ I need sleep for tomorrow and I can't sleep through that stuff."

"Relax, Peri. Maybe actually joining the party will-"

"I do not want any part of it. You know what happened last time."

"What, you just broke a computer screen?"

"Yes, _and_ because of a lack of sleep I got a D on one of my more important tests and had to deal with... Ugh, you brainless clod wouldn't understand!"

"Look, you can either join in the party, or you can sleep outside."

"Jasper!" Lapis shouted from behind a painting she was working on.

"You know what?" Peridot crossed her arms. "Maybe I should sleep outside, maybe that way I can get some Goddamn peace and quiet!" With a huff, she stormed to her computer, unplugging various cables and shifting the box to her room.

"Great going, Jasper, now she's going to be like this for the next week."

"Ugh, why does she have to be so obnoxious..." Jasper placed her face in her hand in frustration.

Peridot tore the door open, carrying a bag of snacks in one hand, and started heading off.

"I'll make sure your-" Lapis started, just as the door slammed shut. "... Room's locked down..."

***

"... So that's why I'm here."

Pearl placed her cup of tea down. "Well, you're in luck. I've already started dinner, and Amethyst just texted me that she'll be heading to that very same party, so I don't have to cook any extra. Besides, you're always welcome, I've said that before."

"I'll make sure you get notice before I do in future." Peridot smiled.

"Speaking of, I should get back to dinner." Pearl pulled her chair out and stood up. "Don't want it to burn. Make yourself at home."

***

Eventually, the table was set. Despite initial concerns and wariness, Peridot and Garnet soon relaxed around each other, trading various tales of adventures in the many digital worlds they have traversed.

The meal Pearl had prepared was a self-served one with equal parts vegetables and pieces of chicken. Pearl favoured the vegetables, not being a huge fan of meat in general, Garnet prefering a balance, and Peridot seemed to favour the less healthy elements of the meal. In other words, similar to normal, except an obnoxious tiny fuzzball of a woman was replaced with an only slightly obnoxious tallish geek that kept checking her phone with distasteful expressions.

"Man," Peridot started, after finishing her meal. "I wish Lapis could cook like that."

Pearl smiled. "Well, thank you. I try to do as best as I can."

Garnet looked at her phone, then stood up. "Sorry, have to run. A friend needs help with studying."

"Don't let us keep you." 

Garnet turned to Peridot and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here." After Garnet left, Peridot turned to Pearl. "Bee-tee-double-you, can I use your shower? Haven't had one in too long."

Pearl instinctively sniffed. "Sure thing. The toiletries on the right are mine, feel free to use those."

"Oh, I brought my own." Peridot lifted up her back of snacks (and, apparently, shampoo and such). "See ya in a bit."

"Sure thing." Pearl smiled.

A low buzz on the table drew her attention. A green phone was sitting alone on it.

Peridot's phone.

"I wonder..." Pearl reached out a little, but drew her hand back. "No, I must respect her privacy. Although..."

Although instantly regretting her snapshot decision, Pearl gingerly grabbed the phone and looked it over. It buzzed again, the screen lighting up, the name _D. Nakamura_ appearing on a Skype notification.

Fiddiling a little with the unfamiliar phone, she pulled open the Skype app and scrolled through the chatlog. 

She didn't know what surprised (and terrified) her more, the almost completely one-sided conversation, or the increasingly and disturbingly abusive messages from who quickly was identified as Peridot's mother, all based on her schoolwork and how disappointed she was that Peridot wasn't 'trying hard enough' and 'wasn't raised to be a failiure' - All because she got a single D out of her otherwise straight A's. This pattern occured ANY time Peridot didn't get an A or greater. Anything that wasn't about her failing was about how well she was doing in her schoolwork, or whether she'd found a partner (presumably male, until Peridot messaged them about her being a lesbian, at which point only the gender changed). 

In return, Peridot's message habits were withdrawn to say the least - if she agreed with anything, it was only a 'yes' or 'no', and if she didn't agree there was no reply. It almost seemed that Peridot was fighting with as much passive aggression as she could muster. 

_**"... No child of mine..."** _

Pearl pushed that memory out of her mind, but tears still formed as she just realised how much Peridot-

The shower door opened, and she snapped her head up to see Peridot walk out, wearing a singlet and shorts and stretching, her left arm made of fine mechanical engineering. 

"Man, I haven't had a shower that good in- Gyaha!" She froze, but her expression of shock quickly changed to one of pure anger, and she launched forwards to grab her device out of Pearl's hands. "That's mine!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Pearl blurted out. "I only wanted to know more about you!"

"By going through my Skype?!" Peridot practically screamed. "How much did you see?"

"I..." Pearl went quiet. "... All of it."

"Y... You idiot!" Peridot was on the verge of tears. "I was just starting to trust you and you broke that trust when you went through my phone!" 

"I'm-"

"Just get out of my face!" She screamed, prompting Pearl to leap to her feet.

Fearing another outburst, Pearl decided not to speak and instead dash inside her room, slamming the door shut and lean on it. After a moment, she slid down it, the sounds of her own sobbing echoing in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope I'm not being too heavy-handed with the drama angsty stuff.
> 
> Also, one day, I will make a comic of this. Because, as you can tell by my name, I am more of an artist than a writer.


	4. Defective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this is loads of fun to write. Aside from it just being great fun, I'm getting about two chapters a day down, which is even more productive than the last time I spammed fanfic.

"Jesus Christ, Pearl, you look like a mess." Amethyst chuckled.

Pearl blinked through bleary eyes. It wasn't too long ago that she stumbled out of her room, and against her usual routine simply tossed on some fresh clothes and staggered to the cafe. "Had a rough night."

Amethyst could tell something was wrong. "No, I mean, I've seen you when you've had a rough night. This is _way_ worse."

"... I don't want to talk about it." Pearl looked away from her.

"You sure?"

Pearl frowned, her grip on her coffee cup tightening. "I'm sure."

" _Fine._ " Amethyst blew some errant hair out of her eyes. "So how's the project going?"

"I have to go." Pearl stood up and went to leave, when Amethyst grabbed her arm.

"Pearl, seriously, just tell me-"

Pearl yanked her arm out of her grasp and walked off, blocking out anything to do with Amethyst.

* * *

In the early hours of the morning, Peridot, wiping away dried tears, pulled herself off an unfamiliar couch. "Ugh..."

"Didn't sleep well?" Garnet's deep voice asked.

"No..." Peridot grabbed her artificial arm and put it on where her left arm would normally be, and gave it a few flexes. "Is Pearl here?"

"She's in her room."

"Good." Peridot replied darkly, grabbing her hoodie and slipping it on.

"You two had a fight?" Garnet asked.

"Yeah... She looked through my phone, so I got pissed off."

"Hmm..." Garnet leaned forwards a little, looking slightly into her drink. "Understandably. I'll have a word with Pearl."

"Doesn't matter to me." Peridot shrugged, pulling herself off the couch and stretching. "I'd rather not see her again."

"Well, that's going to be awkward."

"Why's that?"

* * *

Of course.

Pearl forgot that she shared her Engineering lecture with Peridot, as evidenced by the fact that the two of them were now sitting on either end of the front row, both reluctant to notice each other and unwilling to comprimise their education because of it.

At a quick glance, Pearl could tell that Peridot was as messed-up as she was, and hadn't bothered to hide it. And she was angry.

The lecture itself was uneventful, or at least it seemed that way to Pearl's wandering mind. Something about lathes, as far as she could tell. She'd have to catch up online.

Pearl quickly checked her Facebook, and noticed that Peridot had removed her, a pang of guilt hitting her square in the chest, which much to her horror didn't subside. 

Fortunately, the lecture was over quickly and both she and Peridot were quick to get out. 

***

Pearl took a sip of her freshly-prepared tea with trembling hands, and felt herself calm down immediately.

Amethyst stopped tapping her foot. "Okay, now that you've had your tea, can you _please_ explain what's going on?"

Pearl sighed, watching her hand to make sure it wasn't shaking as badly. "I... I've kind have made Peridot upset, by looking through her phone."

"Wow." Amethyst muttered, then chuckled. "I mean, I know you like snooping, but that's taking it quite far."

"And that explains why Peridot was so angry with you." Garnet added, sitting across from Pearl with her arms crossed.

Pearl sighed. "I just... I wish I was strong enough to make it up to her, to prove to her I can be trusted again."

"Good luck with that, P." Amethyst flipped through her phone. "Jasper says El Dorko is extra mopey right now, practically unapproachable."

"Garnet, you must have some idea, right?" Pearl looked up, hopeful.

"Hmmm..." Garnet leant back. "Talking may be the best option."

"I... Was hoping you'd have something more elaborate."

"If I think of something I think will work better, I'll let you know. Oh, that reminds me." Garnet pulled her phone out. "That party I was organising is tonight."

"Oh yes, that it is." Pearl brightened up a little. "Maybe setting it up will help lighten up my spirits."

"You're weird." Amethyst smirked.

"I just really enjoy organising things." Pearl shrugged.

"The party starts at... 9." Garnet put her phone down. 

"Well, I'll make sure to be there at 7, and be out of there by 9."

"Pearl," Garnet removed her shades, an expression of concern on her face. "You need to relax. Please, stay for at least an hour."

"I..." Pearl started. "Fine, I'll stay an hour."

"Thank you." Garnet replaced her shades. "Remember, 9PM start."

"I'll remember. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Pearl pulled herself up and left the room.

As soon as the door shut, Amethyst turned to Garnet. "Garnet, the party starts at 6."

"I know." The corner of her lip raised a little.

* * *

"You asshole." Pearl said, but not without a slight smile. "I can't believe I trusted you."

Garnet shrugged, standing in the doorway of a surprisingly large house, the interior furnished mostly with wood. "You need to relax, and I thought that would help."

"But, you know, I don't like parties that much." Pearl said, entering the house and immediately being hit with heat and noise. "Not exactly my idea of relaxing."

"You'll be fine."

"By the way, Garnet, you never told me who else you were invi-" Pearl's words died in her mouth as she spots the painfully familiar green hoodie of Peridot, and the woman attached to it. Instinctively, she took a step behind the much stronger woman next to her. "What is she doing here?"

"I invited her."

"You... You planned this, didn't you?"

"I have to keep some of my secrets." Garnet adjusted her shades, smiling ever-so-slightly. "Anyway, I'm going to check what's happening elsewhere."

"W-wait, I-!" Pearl reached out to Garnet as she walked off. "Great..."

Deciding not to talk to Peridot, she simply made her way over to the snack table, grabbing a few tidbits and a drink.

Unfortunately for her, Peridot decided to walk up next to her, having the same idea.

After a second, Pearl cleared her throat. "H-hello, Peridot."

"Pearl." She replied, voice seething with cold hatred.

"Ah... How's it going?"

"Alright, no thanks to you." She picked up a triangular slice of bread covered with 100s and 1000s. "What the heck is this?"

"Fairy bread!" Amethyst announced, butting in between them. "It's an Australian thing, thought I'd make some. It's good, try some."

Peridot looked at it hesitantly, and took a bite. "Hmm. Kinda weird."

"Like Australia, amirite?" Amethyst chuckled. "Come on, P, try some too."

"I'd rather not." Pearl replied. "I'm not overly fond of sugary treats."

"Suit yourself." Amethyst whipped out her phone. "Ooh, Buck's starting a party game, and it looks like it's gonna be loads of fun~"

"Pass." Peridot muttered.

Not that she or Pearl had a choice, as Amethyst grabbed their arms and yanked them to another room, where a group of people were sitting in a circle, a bottle in the middle.

"Great. What are we playing?" Peridot asked, yanking her arm from Amethyst's grip.

"We're still working that out." Buck, a young man wearing shades and a red shirt, replied. "Jenny wants to play Seven Minutes of Heaven, while I'm rooting for Truth or Dare."

"I'm down with whatever." His friend, a pale lad with spiked-up hair called Sour Cream, added.

"Why not spin the bottle to decide?" Pearl offered. 

"I didn't know you wanted to play, Pearl." Amethyst jabbed her side.

"I _don't_."

"Aww, come on." The woman sitting next to Buck, Jenny, patted an empty spot next to her. "It won't take too long. And we'll try not to make it too awkward."

"I..."

"Fuck it." Peridot announced. "I'm drunk, let's do this shit." She sat herself down next to Jenny, throwing her hoodie off and revealing her prosthetic arm once again.

"Now you don't have an excuse, P." Amethyst nudged her again. "If the social recluse is joining in, you gotta."

"Fine." Pearl sat herself down elsewhere in the circle, with much less haste.

"Alright, let's decide." Sour Cream reached for the bottle and gave it a solid spin. 

Eventually, it settled closest to Jenny, to which the girl jumped up with excitement. "Yes!"

"Man..." Buck mumbled.

"Now, as the victor, I get to spin first. When the bottle lands, I pick someone else, and you two go into that closet-"

"Which," Garnet, leaning next to the door, added. "I'll be keeping shut."

"-And you know the rest. Now..." Jenny grabbed the bottle and gave it a hard spin. It ground to a halt, pointing at a short blonde woman. "Sadie!"

Sadie jumped a little, blushing. "Yeah?"

"You and..." Jenny made a show of scanning the rest of the circle. "Lars!"

One of the two sitting next to Pearl, a young man with a partly-shaved head, spat out their drink in surprise. "W-what?"

"Come on, you know the rules."

"Man, this sucks..." Lars pulled himself up, Sadie following and looking a little... eager. Once the two of them were inside, Garnet shut the door and leant on it.

"This was _such_ a good idea." Jenny chuckled darkly.

Pearl was suddenly very worried.

***

It had taken a couple of rotations before Pearl was finally chosen by the empty glass vessel of fate. And, much to her chagrin, Amethyst was the one who spun it.

The small woman chuckled, flicking purple-streaked hair out of her eyes. "Alright, Pearl, it's you and..."

_Please don't say Peridot, please don't say-_

"Peridot."

Silence.

Peridot shot up. "Alright, that's it, I am done with this childish-"

Jenny stopped her. "Come on, it's the rules."

"You don't have to do, like, anything." Buck added.

Pearl stood up, dusting herself off, smirking slightly. "Well, I for one am not about to surrender so easily. What happened to your fighting spirit, Peridot?"

"Hey!" Peridot frowned. "You don't get to use my favourite anime against me."

"Then I'm sure you'll have no problem with this."

Peridot growled a little. "Fine. But we're not doing anything."

"Fine by me." Pearl replied, walking into the surprisingly roomy closet that became significantly less-so once Peridot entered.

And then the door slammed shut.

Peridot's face was lit by a dull glow as she fumbled around, eventually turning on her phone's camera light, and she propped it up on one of the shelves. "So, here we are."

"Indeed." Pearl crossed her arms.

An awkward, painful silence resounded through the room.

"So... A prosthetic arm then."

Peridot took a moment to look at her arm, but a second later sighed. "Look, what do you want?"

"I..." Pearl looked down. "I just wanted to apologise."

"For looking through my phone."

"Yes. I know it was wrong, and no amount of justifying will help that."

"That is indeed true."

"But, for what it's worth... You have my sympathies."

Peridot scoffed. "Right. Like you know anything about my life."

"Oh don't act so self-dignified. At least your parents want you to be something you actually _can_ be."

"I... Huh?" Peridot looked up, somewhat confused.

"My parents... They..." She looked down at her hands, which were starting to tremble slightly. "They don't like the fact that I'm a lesbian."

"What?"

"When I was a lot younger, I was... pretty typical. I loved princesses. I wanted to be one. I mean, I also wanted to be a knight at the same time, so there's that."

"A warrior-princess." Peridot chuckled. "Kinda cool, actually."

"Even through primary and middle school, I was still a pretty average teen. I didn't really like any boys, though, but I kinda found girls to be pretty and I wanted to be as pretty as them. Then, a couple of months into high school, I met Rose Quartz, and I instantly realised that I, in fact, was attracted to girls." Pearl wrapped her arms around herself. "But..."

"But...?"

"When I told my parents, who otherwise had no problem with me, well, they went ballistic." She screwed her eyes shut, tears starting to form. "I can still hear them, telling me I'm wrong, I'm defective." She relaxed a little. "I told Rose about the abuse I was now suffering, and she offered me a place to live, but it didn't help me enough."

"How so?"

"My parents basically cut me out from their life. No social media, no email, no phone. They moved address after a couple of years, and I've lost contact with them ever since." She sighed. "And ever since, I've been having anxiety and self-confidence issues." She chuckled sombrely. "I'm a wreck..."

"What? No no no no, you're not a wreck!" Peridot placed her organic hand on her shoulder. "You're... Well, you're better than a wreck, anyway. Fuck, I'm not good at this comforting thing..."

"It's fine." Pearl looked into Peridot's eyes. "Also, you are drunk."

"Only a little." Peridot rebutted. "But yeah... Uh..."

"Hm?" 

"Do you... Want a hug? It's better than me speaking."

Pearl didn't say anything in reply, instead choosing to wrap her arms around Peridot, who after a moment did the same and pulled her in tight.

The embrace was warm, soft and inviting, causing whatever remained of Pearl's emotional barrier to fade away, tears freely flowing as she held Peridot close.

Eventually, the two of them pulled apart. "That..." Pearl started. "That felt nice."

"It's been too long since one of those, huh?"

"Yeah..."

The door creaked open slightly, Garnet peering in with a smile. "Your seven minuts are up."

"I swear you and Amethyst planned this." Pearl commented, wiping a tear away.

"That's a secret."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, as much as I really enjoy writing these, I still get anxious about whether people will think my attempts at angstdrama are a bit off or something like that.
> 
> Oh yeah, Fairy Bread. As an Aussie, Fairy Bread is a regular party food, and I like it. It shouldn't be hard to look up a recipe, give it a shot.


	5. Presentation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, not an engineering student. No idea what I'm doing.

"You serious?"

Peridot sighed, cleaning her glasses with her shirt. "Yes, I am, Lapis."

"You know it's only been a month, right?" Lapis replied. "You can't have fallen in love with her already."

"I haven't 'fallen in love', Lapis, I am merely infatuated with her." Peridot replaced her glasses. "I think."

"Wait, who's she crushing on again?" Jasper sat up from her exersize machine, removing an earbud from her ear.

"It's Pearl." Peridot replied matter-of-factly, but not without a twinge of embarrasment.

Jasper blinked.

"Tall, red hair, neat-freak, pointy nose?"

"Oh, of course, her." Jasper smacked her forehead humourously. "So what's the problem then?"

"Nothing, I'm... just not sure how I feel about her." Peridot slid into the couch. "I mean... She is cute and I really enjoy her company, now that we've resolved our differences, but I'm not sure if that's friendship or infatuation."

"Well," Lapis started. "I reckon give it a week or two, see if it passes or not."

"You sure that'll work?"

"Oh, not at all." Lapis laughed to herself. "But logically speaking it should work."

Peridot grumbled.

* * *

"Peridot, are you listening?"

"Huh?" Peridot snapped out of her trance. "S-sorry, I didn't get much sleep."

"It's fine." Pearl smiled. "Remember, our project is due on Monday, so try to get some sleep. Do you need flash-cards?"

"Eh, I'll just read off the Powerpoint and extrapolate from there." Peridot shrugged. "I've kinda got this all memorised."

"Well, I'll make you some flash-cards if you need them." Pearl pulled out a pen from behind her ears and started scribbling on some small cards.

While Pearl did that, Peridot decided to gaze out the window - or more accurately, gaze at Pearl's reflection. It had been nearly a week, and Peridot's feeling hadn't subsided. After careful analysis of her emotional state around her, she came to the theory that she, in fact, was infatuated with Pearl, which caused a broiling mix of emotions, albeit low-key ones due to her naturally restrictive nature. On one hand she was relieved that she finally understood what she was feeling. On the other, she had no idea how it'd go - after all, Pearl had a pretty dark history regarding her attractions, and she didn't want to make it worse.

But looking at the way Pearl's red hair framed her face stopped her concerns, even for a second.

"Oh, damn, I have to go." Pearl announced, snapping her partner out of her daze. "Mathematics lecture."

"Wha-? Oh, of course. So, uh, when can we next meet up?" 

"I'll have to check my schedule, but I'm probably free Sunday. Gives us time to iron out the last details of the project and go over it all."

"Awesome. My place or yours?"

Peridot mentally slapped herself. _Smooth._

"I think my dormatory should suffice." Pearl pulled a strand of hair out of her eyes. "It's clean, and I'm more than willing to cook if you'd like something _other_ than snackfoods." She smirked.

"Watch it." Peridot pointed at her, although with a smile. "Catch you later, yeah?"

"Hopefully, yes." Pearl scooped up her gear and started to exit the cafe. "By the way, you owe me for your lunch today."

"Ugh, fine."

* * *

Pearl couldn't focus on her lecture, and she knew exactly why.

Peridot.

Ever since the closet, Pearl had started to feel a painfully familiar warmth in her chest any time she was around Peridot. The same warmth she had around Rose.

She was in love with her.

Or, at least infatuated. Honestly, Pearl never really saw the difference before. 

It was this same feeling that made her far more willing to spend time and help Peridot with any issues she was having, or just generally spending time talking about whatever common ground they had 

Not that Peridot seemed to mind the constant interractions. If she objected to them, she didn't make it obvious.

It made her wonder if Peridot had mutual feelings. She knew Peridot also liked girls, that was a fact Amethyst was very clear in establishing, so that eliminated that barrier. Anything else would come down to more personal things, and that was the difficult part.

She decided to find out the truth, or at least tell Peridot her side of it, after their project.

* * *

"Are you nervous, Peridot?"

"Y-yeah, just a little." Peridot tried to keep her breathing down. "It's been forever since I've done an oral presentation."

"And yet you managed to get quite highly on your previous ones." Pearl placed a hand on your shoulder. "This one shouldn't be much different."

"Well, this time, I've... Well, you know, Miss Snoopingas Usual."

"I... See." Pearl took a moment to register the reference and what she meant. "Either way, I have confidence you will do your best."

The door to the class opened, and the two stood up and took their usual places. "I just hope we don't go first."

"Okay," Miss Sardonyx spoke, standing at the front of the class as per normal. "Our first presenters will be Peridot Nakamura and Pearl Chevalier."

"What?!" Peridot groaned.

"Don't worry, Peridot." Pearl whispered as the two stood up. "We're going to win this thing."

The two took to the front as Miss Sardonyx stepped aside, letting the two of them set up. After a second of fiddling Peridot managed to pull the slideshow onto the ancient projector screen. 

***

The two of them were blitzing it.

Between their vast knowledge, clear speaking voices and varying degrees of enthusiasm, the class' attention was held, and even Miss Sardonyx was smiling (not exactly a rare occurance, but usually a good one).

"... And thus concludes our presentation." Peridot finished, small beads of sweat on her forehead as she vigourously kept her composure. "Any questions?"

Miss Sardonyx raised her hand, and Peridot's heart skipped a beat.

"Y-yes?"

"What would you say the implications on what would happen to our society would be if we, for example, never engineered nuclear weaponry?"

Peridot realised she made a greivous mistake. "W-well, I... Uh..." She felt herself tense up, her breathing getting heavier.

Pearl saw her distress and jumped in. "Ah, interesting question! We couldn't find any sources for theories on what would have happened, but _my_ hypothesis is that we never would have advanced past nuclear energy, which may have slowed down production of, for example, renewable energy sources."

Miss Sardonyx hummed. "Very well."

"Any other questions?" Pearl asked, very relieved when no other hands were raised, and the two stepped down.

"Aw jeez..." Peridot placed her hands in her head. "I really messed that up."

"That was kind of a curve-ball question, don't beat yourself up about it."

Four presentations later, they realised it was not, in fact, a random question. Peridot furiously pulled out the worksheet. "Shit."

"What?" Pearl whispered, trying not to interrupt the current presentation.

"We missed an entire question." Peridot hissed.

"Huh?" Pearl grabbed the sheet and looked it over. Indeed, that question about nukes was there. "How did we...?"

"I have no idea, but this is not going to end well."

"Well, most of the marks are in presentation so we could be in the clear..."

* * *

Pearl could tell something was chewing Peridot from the inside. Having had many years of experience dealing with Amethyst, she decided the best course of action was just to ask her.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Peridot looked up from her phone. "Wha...? Yeah, I'm fine."

Silence.

"Are you sure?"

"I..." Peridot sighed. "No, something's bothering me."

"Is it... the presentation?"

"No. Well, yeah, but that's not it. I..." Peridot glanced around the dorm room. "I have... this crush, on a girl."

Pearl's heart started beating harder. "O-oh?"

"Yeah..." Peridot had a huge blush on her face. "She's really cute and great fun to be around, but I don't know how to tell her..."

"This girl..." Pearl leant a little back. "Who is she?"

"I'd... Rather not say."

Her heart jumped, but her mind wanted to make sure it wasn't overreacting. "Is it Lapis?"

"W-what?" Peridot turned to face Pearl sharply. "No! I mean, she is definitely cute and fun to be around, but we've already dated, so no."

"Ah, right, forgot for a second." Pearl chuckled, trying to calm her slowly unravelling nerves. "Still... Have you thought that, you know, maybe she'd be fine with you just telling her?"

"Did that work for you before?"

"I-I haven't actually dated anyone before, so..." Pearl shrugged. "Still, if you're such good friends, maybe you can tell her and, if it doesn't work out you can keep being friends."

"I certainly hope so..." Peridot looked out the window, the sky too dark to see anything of note. 

Silence reigned for the longest of times. 

Eventually, Peridot turned to Pearl. "H-hey, Pearl?"

Pearl's face brightened, her pale skin easily showing her blush. "Yes?"

"I... I think I-" A low buzz resounded, and Peridot instinctively pulled up her phone. "Shit."

"Huh?"

"N-nothing!" Peridot fake laughed a laugh more fake than any before it.

"Peridot." Pearl frowned.

Peridot squeaked. "Uh... We got our result back for our presentation."

Pearl relaxed. "Oh, is that all?"

"So it seems." Peridot flicked through a couple of things before taking a long look at the results. 

Pearl leaned over, quickly scanning the email with caution, looking for the final result. She had to wait for Peridot to scroll down before the mark made itself known in terrifying clarity.

**B+**

_Huh._ Pearl thought. _That's actually quite reasonable, despite missing a question._

Peridot didn't seem to think so, if her heavier breathing and shaking hands were anything to go by.

"Well, that's... Not to bad, huh?" Pearl voiced her thoughts, forcing a smile and a lighter mood.

"It's terrible!" Peridot shouted, in distress. "I mean, the mark _itself_ I can handle-"

"Well, it is around 85-90%."

"-But now my mum's gonna go ballistic!" Peridot leant back. "Uuuugh, I wish they would just leave me alone..."

Pearl said nothing, instead placing a hand on Peridot's shoulder, a frequent act at this rate. "For what it's worth, I think you're doing fine."

Peridot turned to Pearl, tears in her eyes, and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the ending seems a bit rushed and not as dramatic as it could be, but it's 1AM (I was supposed to be in bed an hour ago), my leg has gone numb and I have my first-ever job interview to go to. Yay.
> 
> Don't worry, tomorrow I shall have chapter 6 (wow, 6 chapters in 4 days, go me) uploaded.
> 
> Again, please tell me what you think. I don't improve without advice.


	6. Emotion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the job interview didn't go so well, but it didn't end with any hostility so that's good. Marketing just involves too much talking.
> 
> Anyways, have a chapter.

"Pearl, I need your help."

Pearl froze for a second, before returning to a standing position from the ballet one she was in. "Come again?"

"Uh..." Peridot glanced at the other person in the room, a tall woman known as Opal. She was teaching Pearl in dance, albeit not formally. "Can I discuss this in private?"

"Can it wait an hour?" Pearl looked back to her tutor. "I did just start today's lesson."

"I... don't have enough time for that." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Aaaaand it's gonna take a while."

Pearl sighed. "How long are we talking about?"

"Two days, tops." Peridot raised her hands. "Trust me, I wouldn't ask you if you weren't my only option."

Pearl saw the sincerity in her eyes. With an accepting sigh, she turned to Opal. "Is it alright if we could reschedule this for Thursday some time? This seems rather urgent."

"Of course." Opal smiled. "Same time?"

Pearl nodded, then turned to Peridot. "Alright, what's troubling you?"

Peridot gestured for her to follow, and she stepped out and into the courtyard outside. "Okay, so, my parents found out about that B+ we got."

"Ah, yes." Pearl nodded. "I blame myself for that."

"Well, A, a B+ isn't going to make or break my grade, and B, technically _I_ was in charge of that question so it's _my_ fault." Peridot took a seat on a bench. "But... I started arguing, and... things may have gotten a bit heated."

Pearl didn't reply immediately, instead taking in all the information.

"So, I, uh... may have accidentally challenged them to a video chat."

"Oh, is that all?" Pearl leant back. "What do you need my help with?"

"I want to look pretty."

"Huh?"

"I-I mean, I want to make sure I look good, so I don't immediately get off on the wrong foot. It's been a couple of years since they've seen me, _and_ I don't have any formal wear at all." She wrapped a lock of her hair around her finger. "A-and you're the prettiest girl I know so I thought you could help me with that."

Pearl blushed. "W-well, I don't know about the _prettiest_ ," She shook her head a little, and turned to Peridot. "But I am more than willing to help you in this endeavour."

"R-really?" Peridot looked up, eyes bright with hope.

"Of course." Pearl nodded.

* * *

"No..." Pearl muttered.

"Oh come on, you're the one who picked it out!"

"Yes, but... Red does not suit you."

"Ugh, fine." Peridot slid back into the changeroom. "Why'd you pick out so many outfits anyway?"

"They're all of a variety of different styles." Pearl replied, eyeing the current three outfits already discarded out of the twenty or so. "Although, I did try and aim for something that helped... ahem, 'accentuate' your figure."

Peridot poked her head out, grinning. "Perv."

"H-hey!" Pearl squawked. 

Peridot slipped back in. After a second she tossed out one of the outfits, a blue ensemble. "Too tight on the chest."

"Well if you didn't wear that hoodie so often I'd be able to tell."

"You've seen me without it on."

"Not really."

"Nah, I swear you have." Peridot tossed out a purple outfit. "There was that time I had a shower at your place, remember?"

"Hmm... You have a point. However, it was for only a second, and you did kind of shout at me so I couldn't focus."

"Hm, fair point." Another outfit was thrown out. "That one messes with my arm."

"Oh, of course." She paused for a moment. "Speaking of, how did you lose your arm?"

"What? Oh, that's easy. I wasn't born with one." She poked out a stump of an arm. "Fetal amputee."

"I see." Pearl smiled. "Well, at least it wasn't a drama-riddled car crash or something."

"Yep. After someone put up 3D printable prosthetic arms, I kinda started modifying mine over time, built specifically for neuro-kinetic feedback and rapid reaction speeds, at the cost of strength." After a second, Peridot stepped out. She was dressed in a simple, deep-green outfit, patterned with vaguely hexagonal lines and the occasional yellow diamond shape, that accentuated her hips. While the outfit came with a pair of gloves, she only wore the right glove, the other hand freely displaying its artificial nature. "So, thoughts?"

Pearl blushed profusely. "I-it looks great."

Peridot looked herself over. "Yeah, it does kinda look good, huh? Toss a jacket over it and I'm all good to go."

"Hm..." Pearl pulled out her phone, checking the time. "By the way, we have a couple of hours until we have to retire for the night. Do you... Want to explore the boardwalk?"

Peridot blushed, rubbing her elbow. "Y-yeah, that'd be cool, I guess."

***

"Oh my god, is that...?"

The two of them were barely five minutes out of the store before they had passed an arcade. 

" _Teens of Rage IV_?" Peridot screamed excitedly, practically at the aformentioned machine before Pearl could even react. "I thought they didn't make arcade versions of this!"

Pearl walked up. "What is... Uh, _Teens of Rage_?"

"Oh, it's this underrated, and yet surprisingly well-recieved, fighting game, kinda like _Street Fighter_ but more low-key."

"I see." Pearl inspected the machine. It was fairly new, though not without some wear and tear. "I'll be honest, I've never saw the appeal in games like this. Or, for that matter, many other games."

"Casual." Peridot snickered. "Hey, why don't we have a couple of games? I'll pay."

"Hmm... Alright." Pearl took to one of the inbuilt controls, and as Peridot slipped in a quarter she took the other.

"I'll go easy on you, considering you're not as hardcore as I am." 

"Just tell me the controls and I'll be fine."

***

"Haha!" Peridot shot her arms up, breathing heavy. "I knew I'd win!"

"Congratulations." Pearl clapped a couple of times. "You certainly know what you're doing."

"Heh, yeah. I mean, for someone who hasn't touched any of these games before you're pretty quick, but I'm a much more seasoned gamer." She flicked out a quarter and spun it expertly between her fingers. "So, one more game, for funzies?"

"I think I can manage one more. The night is young, and you seem to be enjoying yourself, so I'll indulge you this time."

"Awesome." Peridot dropped the coin in and prepared herself.

Their built-up joy crashed as the screen flickered and switched off. 

"Damnit!" Peridot growled, slamming the machine a couple of times. "That was my last quarter!"

Pearl looked around the back of the machine to the best of her abilities. "What do you think happened?"

"I dunno, but I think I can fix it." Peridot started to open a panel before a hand on her shoulder stopped her. 

"Hang on, you can't just open up an arcade machine."

"Why not?"

"There's... probably laws against it. Besides, you could tamper and irrevocably damage the internals."

"Hmm, good point." Peridot stood back up. "Be right back."

After a second, she returned, carrying a dollar note in her hand. "Care to explain?"

"I asked Mr Smiley if I could have a look, and he tossed me a twenty as compensation." She smiled, removing the panel and looking at the internals. "Hm..."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Ah, it's all screwed up in here. This might take a while."

"I'm in no rush." Pearl shrugged, dusting off the wall before leaning back on it. 

A couple of minutes passed, with the sound of repairs being the only noise.

"You know, Peridot, I do have to admire your resiliance."

"Huh?" 

"How do I put this... You seem remarkably calm and collected despite all that has happened to you."

"Interesting observation. Do continue."

"Well, you're having similar problems with your parents that I had. While you're here, acting like it's not the end of the world, the moment I was estranged I practically collapsed into a ball of anguish and self-loathing that I'm still struggling with today." Pearl sighed, looking at her hand for no reason. "If Rose wasn't there to help me, I don't know what I would have done."

"Hmm." Peridot paused for a split second. "Do you know of the concept of Dry and Wet anger?"

"I... Don't think so."

"Oh, someone posted a screencap of someone's blog, so it's not official or anything. Wet anger is that sort of anger where you're, like, in tears and you're shaking and your voice is cracking and you feel weak for showing your emotions." Peridot leaned back, studying the machine with a trained eye. "Dry anger is the sort where you're stone-faced, and your voice seethes with a cold anger, and everyone can tell how pissed off you are."

"I've never thought about it like that..." 

"So, and I don't presume to be an expert on this, while you usually default to Wet anger, considering your far more expressive emotions, I suffer greatly from Dry anger. Now, you'd think that'd be a good thing, but it's not." Peridot stood up, dusting her hands. "I am a million shades of fucked-up, but I refuse to show it."

"That can't be healthy for you." Pearl replied, a sympathetic tone in her voice.

"Yeah. I mean, why else do you think I'm constantly tired, eat nothing but junk food and barely any actual water?" Peridot shrugged. "But you, you're lucky that you're much more able to express yourself."

"Maybe a bit _too_ much, I think. I... I tend to let my emotions override my sense of logic, and coupled with anxiety issues..."

Peridot placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "Hey, we can't be logical all the time."

Pearl smiled. "You're right... I just have to tone it down a little."

"Yep." Peridot clapped her hands together. "Now, let's see if this beast works."

Upon booting it up, the game indeed ran fine, if not a little better than before. Of course, they had lost the use of their quarter due to the reboot.

"Damnit."

***

"I've always wondered what it's like, being on the moon." Pearl leant back on the bench, looking up at the bright white orb above them.

"Aside from the lack of air?" Peridot chuckled. "But nah, it'd be cool to go there. Of course, Mars is better, if you ask me."

"Hm." Pearl sighed deeply. "By the way, Peridot..."

"Huh?"

"You... Wanted to tell me something? Just before you got that email."

"I..." Peridot sighed, breath slightly shaky. "Uh..."

"Take your time."

And time it did take, as nothing happened for a minute, until Peridot's (robot) hand moved just over Pearl's. "I... I think I like you."

Pearl's heart skipped about twenty beats, and not from fear this time. "C-can you clarify...?"

Peridot's hand fully wrapped around Pearl's, breathing heavy. "I mean... I've... I've got this crush on you... I know, it's silly and childish, but I really, really like you and I want to be a couple, even for a little while..."

Pearl looked away from the big orb in the sky and at Peridot, and smiled warmly. "Well, I've... been having similar feelings."

"So does that mean...?" Peridot's eyes grew wide.

Pearl gently placed her free hand on the other's cheek. "Yes. Even if it's only for a little while."

Peridot remained silent for a second, before cracking a huge grin and making the most adorable squealing noise, instantly wrapping herself around Pearl.

And Pearl did the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was originally going to contain the skype video call, but that's for next chapter.
> 
> As always, tell me what you think, so I may improve.


	7. Reconciliation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I got super distracted.

"You're kidding me." Jasper laughed. "I mean, I've heard some strange things before, but this really takes the fuckin' cake."

Peridot blushed, crossing her arms. "And how, exactly, is this situation an outlier in your standard field of rational events?"

"First, nerd. Second... Well, look at you!"

"Please, Jasper, clarify."

"What I think Jasper is _trying_ to say, Peridot," Lapis added. "Is that we, or at least Jasper, never saw you as the sort of person to... y'know, date."

"Yeah, what she said." Jasper replied. "I mean, you're a reclusive geek, and Pearl's... _not_."

"Lapis and I dated for a bit." Peridot shrugged. "I mean, it didn't work out, but still."

"Probly cuz you're a geek."

"No, she was fine." Lapis replied. "It was me, I'm just bad at dating." She turned to Peridot. "For what it's worth, I'm still happy for you, Peri."

"Thanks." Peridot smiled. "Now, I have something extremely important to do in about an hour, and I need you two out of here for that."

"And that would be...?" Jasper raised an eyebrow.

"Skype video chat with my parents."

Jasper looked a little confused. "Why do we not need to be-?"

Lapis started pushing Jasper out the door, clearly aware of the importance. "I just remembered we have to get some more food okay bye Peri have fun!"

***

Pearl sighed, looking at the time on her phone. She was a little early, but that was fine. Before she could knock on the door, it crashed open, a loudly-complaining Jasper being pushed by the considerably smaller Lapis.

Deciding not to dwell on that event, Pearl leaned in, knocking gently. "Peridot?"

" _Impeccable_ timing, Pearl." Peridot opened the door further, gesturing inside. "I was just setting up."

The first thing that hit Pearl was the smell of paint. And then sweat. The next thing that hit her was the almost uncomfortable amount of mess, with all sorts of mundane things scattered around and piled into awkward stacks.

"Yeah, sorry about the mess. Trust me, this is kinda the worst it's been recently, not since last year."

"I'd hate to imagine." Pearl shuddered. "Thank goodness Skype doesn't have a smell function."

"Anyways, you know the layout of this place cuz your place uses the same template. My room is next to the machine-" She pointed to the door next to the impressive computer. "Lapis' is next to mine, and Jasper's is next to the bathroom."

"Noted." Pearl stood next to the computer, looking behind its chair. "Hmm, we should probably clear up some things behind you when you're sitting down."

"Good idea." Peridot leant over the controls and opened up a small program, showing the webcam feed. "Alright, here's what we can see."

Pearl studied the feed for a little bit. "Well, there's these plates..." She moved to a pile of dishes and moved them aside. "And then there's this stuff..."

Peridot simply admired Pearl through the webcam feed, watching her movements on the fluid, high quality display.

"Hmm, Lapis' painting gear is in the way. Can we move it?"

"Lemme check." Peridot furiously tapped a message on her phone. After a second, a reply came through. "She says it's fine. Lemme help ya."

***

After much work, mostly on Pearl's end, the area behind was as clean as they could manage. Not ideal, but that would require an entire afternoon.

Peridot was satisfied, though, as she flicked on a formal jacket over her new attire, trying not to mess up her recently-brushed hair. "Alright, I'm good to go."

"If you need any help, I will be glad to assist."

Peridot took a deep, ever-so-slightly shaky breath, and signed into Skype. Not a minute had passed when she recieved a call, from the infamous D. Nakamura.

With a reluctant gulp, she accepted. On the other side of the chat, on a distinctly lower-quality webcam, a woman similar to Peridot, but notably older, more weathered and with a bob-cut rather than shoulder-length wavy hair, studied the other camera feed. "Hello, Peridot."

"Hello, mother." Peridot replied, coldly.

Silence. Pearl could figuratively swim through the hostility Peridot was eminating.

"I think we can skip the pleasantries." Peridot crossed her arms. 

"That may be for the best." Mrs Nakamura crossed her arms as well. "Care to explain why you're failing?"

Pearl wanted to object. Mercifully for her, Peridot did instead. "Failing? Mother, I got a B+. That's _well_ above average."

"Peridot, I didn't teach you to simply get a _B_. You know I expect you to try your best."

"Yeah, I did. I _literally missed a single question_. Stuff like this happens."

"Peridot, believe me, you don't want to slack off-"

" **I am not slacking off!** " Peridot slammed her hand down on the desk. "You keep pressuring me to do my very best, which to you means straight A+s all the Goddamn time! Have you ever considered that _maybe_ I've hit my limit? I can't be the perfect little techie you always wanted!"

"I-"

"And what if I wanted to be an artist, huh? What then? All you ever wanted was an engineer to be successful and get lots of money for the family, and you're lucky I _wanted_ to be an engineer, if anything to build a giant death robot to **crush you for being such horrible parents!** "

Peridot immediately moved to end the call, but Pearl gripped her hand to stop her. "Wait, Peridot."

Peridot shot a O-class-hot death glare at Pearl, but she didn't flinch. She simply gestured back to the screen, to which she looked back to see Mrs Nakamura looking considerably shaken.

"I... I had no idea you felt like that..."

"Wouldn't have hurt to ask." Peridot replied with no small amount of venom.

"It's just... I didn't want you to end up like me."

"Uh... come again?"

"I... I slacked off a little during University myself. That's why I'm an IT teacher rather than an IT professional."

"I always thought it was because you liked torm- eh heh, teaching."

"Oh, I do. But I always wanted you to be successful, to succeed where I didn't. I guess that didn't work..."

"No no, it kinda worked, I mean, considering my lifestyle nowadays, the fact that I can get considerably high marks is damn impressive. It's just the... the constant need for A's and the pain of having to deal with your reactions to anything less really, really hurts, and I couldn't handle it any more."

"Again, I'm sorry." Mrs Nakamura wiped her eyes under her glasses. "From now on, I'll only get angry if you get less than a C-, maybe a D."

Peridot smiled. "Guess that's fair. I mean, I'm nearing my third year, I'm probably not going to get many A's." She chuckled.

"I completely understand. Now, onto other business, who might you be?"

It took a moment for Pearl to realise she was talking about her. "Huh? Oh, I'm Pearl. Peridot's..."

"Girlfriend." Peridot added. 

Mrs Nakamura positively beamed.

* * *

"Oh man, that went so much better than expected." Peridot leaned back on the couch, now dressed in a simple singlet and shorts. 

"Well, you're lucky it was just a misunderstanding." Pearl mimicked her posture. "My parents weren't so uncertain."

"Ah yeah, that. Religious thing?"

"I don't think so. I mean, they're Christian, but not excessively so. Maybe they just wanted their family lines to continue. I don't know, they never explained why."

"Well, that's definitely different. I thought all the anti-gay nutjobs were all of Christian denominations or something."

"It's a strange world."

"Yep." After a long moment, Peridot turned her head to Pearl's, as did Pearl to Peridot. 

Pearl caressed Peridot's cheek with the back of her hand. "You know, you're exceedingly cute."

Peridot blushed furiously. "S-same..."

The two of them leant closer, Pearl taking the lead. They shut their eyes, and just as they were about to connect, something flashed in Pearl's mind, halting her actions and her breath.

If a colour could describe this feeling, it would be... pink. Or even-

"... Rose."

"Que?" Peridot paused, leaning back.

"I- Uh..." Pearl's eye darted around. "I just remembered I have to help Rose do a thing today."

Peridot raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Yes, it's a very big thing, and I gotta go right now." Pearl vigourously scooped up what little she had brought and rushed out the door. 

"I... What just happened?"

* * *

Pearl kept mentally ramming her head against a wall. She couldn't decide what was more embarrasing, the fact that she simply rushed out of Peridot's room without a proper goodbye, or the fact that she did that because of some sort of mental block.

A mental block related to Rose Quartz.

No doubt Peridot was hopelessly lost. She only had the faintest idea who Rose was, and no idea about the history between her and Pearl.

She decided to take a seat on a random low wall nearby, to try and collect herself. Fortunately, the walkway was almost desolate, so she didn't have to worry about too much attention.

Unfortunately, the one person who was walking by just so happened to be the third-last person she wanted to see, after Rose and Peridot.

Greg.

She tried to hide herself a little but it didn't work. "Oh hey, Pearl."

Pearl sighed, and turned to Greg. "Hello."

"It's been quite a while." Greg pulled up next to her. "How've you been?"

"Eh, it's been better."

"That doesn't sound too good. If you want to talk about it, I'm all ears."

Pearl sighed. She didn't have many people to rely on to talk about this stuff with - Amethyst was a blabbermouth and Garnet wasn't very good at discussions, and she didn't know anyone else, except Peridot, well enough. And Rose was the subject of discussion, so that cut her out. "Okay, long story short, I kinda rushed out of my partner's room- which reminds me, I'm in a relationship with someone now- because of something to do with Rose."

Greg took a moment to process the information. "Huh. Well, I don't know how to help you with that _directly_. I mean, I kind of got lucky with getting together with Rose so I don't have much experience."

"It's fine, really."

"I mean, the only thing I could suggest is to talk to Rose and your partner about it."

"Heh, that sounds like something-" A looming presence suddenly made itself apparent. " **Garnet** , ah hah, how long have you been standing there...?"

Garnet smirked. "Long enough."

"I will never understand how a woman that big can move so quietly..." Greg muttered.

"I think your problem is, is that you're still infatuated with Rose-"

"Am not!" Pearl crossed her arms and huffed.

"... Yes, you are. And you have no idea how she feels, or at least felt, about you, and that's causing doubts in your mind."

"How do you know that? Assuming you're right."

"Firstly, I'm exceptionally good at reading people. Secondly, something similar has happened to my parents in their past."

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but I think I'm completely over Rose now."

Garnet crossed her arms.

"W-what? I am!"

Garnet lowered her shades, eyebrow raised.

After a moment, Pearl sighed. "Okay, yes, you're probably right. But it's not like I can just waltz up to Rose and go "hey, I was super gay for you a long time ago, were you?'. I'd look like a complete idiot."

"I'll back you up if you really need it." Garnet replaced her shades. "But I won't hold your hand."

"And what about Peridot?"

"Hang on, _Peridot_ 's your partner?" Greg replied.

"Did I not mention her name? Huh." Pearl shook her head a little. "But, yes, Peridot is indeed my partner."

"Well, I can always talk to Peridot if you want. I'm actually tutoring her, so I see her weekly. In fact, I'll be seeing her in an hour or so."

"I didn't know she played an instrument." Pearl smiled. "I mean, ideally I'd like to talk to her myself, but I don't think I can do one or the other soon enough."

"Well, if you always want, you can always crash our jam session. Rose'll probably be nearby too."

"Perfect. That'll make things a lot easier."

* * *

"Peri!"

"Hey, Steven." Peridot rubbed the child's head, then looked up at Greg, sitting in the back of his van. "Hey Greg."

"Heya." He patted a spot next to him, to which Peridot sat there and pulled the instrument case from her back. "Everything alright?"

"Oh, considerably better. Well, except Pearl went off to help Rose Quartz with quote 'a thing' endquote. No explanation or anything, just 'zip' right outta there. Kinda weird."

"Ah, yes. The two of them have _quite_ the history."

"Well, I definitely know about the 'moved into her place' part and the bit where she found out she was gay because of Rose-" Something clicked. "Hey, wait a minute."

"Don't worry, kid, they're not doing anything like that. Rose may be pansexual, but she's not promiscuous. Not that there's anything _wrong_ with that, but if you're worried about Pearl cheating on you with Rose, you can rest easy."

Peridot sighed with relief, pulling out a red bass guitar with 'Guren' painted on it in yellow. "Well, that's good. But what _are_ they doing?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Probably talking, getting some stuff off their chest. Especially Pearl."

"Query?"

"Well, as you can probably guess that Pearl had this huge crush on Rose. Even after Rose and I got together and she brought Steven into this world-"

"How old is he, anyway? I keep forgetting."

"Five, this year." Greg spared a glance towards the tiny Steven, currently running after some pidgeons. "But as I was saying, even with all the stuff between Rose and I, I guess part of her is still in love with Rose."

"Heh, I know that feeling. I occasionally get that with Lapis. But, from what I've amalgamated, I guess Pearl's feelings for Rose are a lot stronger than mine for Lapis."

"Probably, I guess." Greg shrugged. "Either way, they have a fair bit to get off their chests." He tapped his guitar "And we have a fair bit of work to do ourselves."

"Right, sorry about the distraction."

* * *

It wasn't hard to find Rose. A 7-foot tall mass of pink curls tends to stand out, especially in a hallway.

When Pearl rounded the corner, she saw this same mass talking to another staff member, her back facing her. Walking up and waiting for a lull in the conversation, Pearl cleared her throat. "Rose?"

Rose turned sharply, pink curls bouncing and swaying with momentum. Time slowed to a crawl as she did, and Pearl could practically see every single strand of hair. Eventually time snapped back. "Oh, hello Pearl. Hello Garnet." Rose gave her the most heartwarming and heartstopping smile. "I was just starting my break."

"O-oh good." Pearl rubbed her neck. "I was wondering if you'd like to, uh, grab a coffee or something?"

"Of course!" Rose grinned, then turned back to the staff member and dumped a stack of papers in his hands, profusely apologising when that same staff member nearly fell over.

***

"It's been far too long." Rose stated, swirling her coffee a little. "Hasn't it?"

"Oh yes, definitely. Not since... you and Greg had Steven."

"Oh, isn't he adorable~!" Rose beamed. "He really takes after the both of us. Kind in spirit and excellent with music."

"He certainly is adorable." Garnet replied, smiling. "He'll be a great adult."

"Absolutely." Pearl added. 

Garnet pulled herself up. "Just going to the bathroom." She placed a hand on Pearl's shoulder. "Don't forget the thing, Pearl. "

Rose watched Garnet walk off for a second, then turned to Pearl. "What's this thing?"

Pearl went far more pale than she already was. "I, uh..."

Rose patiently waited.

Pearl froze for a second, then sighed. "Damnit, Garnet... Okay, so, uh, I... May have been infatuated with you. During highschool. A lot."

Rose didn't shift for a moment. Then she burst into laughter.

"Rose!" Pearl shouted, then immediately covered her mouth.

Rose stopped instantly, but she still smiled. "Sorry, it's just... I've been waiting for you to say that for forever."

Pearl didn't share her joviality. "Wh... What?!"

"Pearl, I've known you had a crush on me the moment we started talking. The constant politeness, eagerness to hang out but trying not to seem like it, your intial hostility against Greg... It was all rather... cute."

"Y-you knew...? Why didn't you say anything?"

"You had just gone through something incredibly rough. I didn't want to make your life worse by rejecting you before you even managed to get confident enough to tell me yourself."

"Rose, for the first year we had known each other, I was in turmoil about my feelings for you. If I had known how you really felt..."

"I'm... I'm sorry." Rose looked down at her drink. "I guess what I thought would be best for you wasn't right." She sighed. "I really messed this up, didn't I?"

"Look, that doesn't matter now. You're with Greg, you have that child you always wanted, and now things have been cleared up." Pearl shrugged. "It can't be that bad."

"You know what? You're right." Rose brushed under one of her eyes. "I mean, everyone makes mistakes. And now you can go and date whoever you want."

"Actually, I'm already in a relationship with someone-"

Rose nearly spat out her coffee. "What?"

"Yeah. I mean, I kinda decided to tell you how I used to, and kind of still do, feel, because whatever emotion I associated with-"

Rose made a loud, excited squealing noise. "That's great news! So, who's the lucky gal?" She raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Uh... Peridot."

"I think I know her. Greg's teaching her bass guitar, I think."

"Yep, that's her." She spared a glance over to the bathrooms, Garnet finally emerging. "You took a while."

Garnet didn't reply, instead taking her seat. "So, what did I miss?"

* * *

Peridot rubbed the joint where her artificial arm met her real arm. "I had no idea Rose was so... strong."

"Well, not all her weight is junk." Pearl smiled. "And she's also huge, so she has a lot of mass to begin with."

"Good thing she hugged me just above the connection. These things aren't exactly cheap to repair."

"I can only imagine."

Peridot sighed, and just as she sat down on the immaculately-clean couch, her phone buzzed. She pulled it up and frowned. "Crap."

"What's the problem?"

"Jasper spontaneously decided to throw an all-night party." She pulled herself up. "Now I'm gonna have to pack up my machine and have a long, sleepless night."

Just as Peridot opened the door to leave, Pearl placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Wait."

"Eh?"

"Y-you could stay here overnight... If you wanted to."

Peridot blushed furiously. "O-okay, yeah, I can do that. Just lemme secure my machine."

"I'll be in my room when you get back." Pearl pat her shoulder, and let the blushing nerd go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the rushed ending. I kinda wanted to post this ASAP, and considering I had over 90% of it done for the last week I thought it was about time.
> 
> However, the next chapter is the smut chapter, so all you pervs out there will have that going for you :) 
> 
> Don't expect it any time soon, though, as not only am I busy with life, I am not very good at writing smut and I just came up with a new fic idea so I'll be shifting some energy into that.


	8. Passion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: SMUT. 
> 
> AVERT YER EYES IF YOU'RE NOT OLD ENOUGH OR DON'T LIKE SMUT

What felt like 4 months of hiding computer parts and walking in the dimming light of twilight, Peridot finally reached Crystal dorm. She took a moment in the elevator to catch her breath and gather her wayward thoughts, before a short walk to Pearl's dorm, room number 517.

With a shaking hand she knocked on the door. Barely a second passed before she just remembered what Pearl said, and opened it on her own accord. As usual, the room was immaculately clean save for a small pile, most likely from Amethyst.

She took a couple of steps towards Pearl's room and knocked on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Peridot."

"Oh!" Pearl sounded quite pleased. "Do come in."

Peridot gently pushed the door open. The room was cold and well-illuminated, and Pearl was sitting on the edge of a surprisingly roomy bed, wrapped in a large coat and flicking through her phone. "It's cold in here."

"Sorry, I forgot that I had the air-conditioning on until I got here and nearly froze to death." She frowned at her phone. "Great, Amethyst is already posting lewd images online."

"That was quick." Peridot sat next to Pearl.

Silence reigned for a good few minutes, broken occasionally by the sound of Pearl's phone.

"So..."

"Hm?"

"Am I gonna be sleeping on the couch? I mean, I won't mind it if I do, but... y'know, options."

Pearl blinked, and then smiled. "If you want, you could sleep in here tonight."

Peridot blushed. "A-and you'll take the couch instead, or...?"

Pearl slowly moved to the lightswitch next to the door, flicking it off. After a split second another click rang out, and a dull light illuminated the room, emitted from a table lamp. "I was thinking..."

Peridot's eyes widened as Pearl cast off her jacket, now showing that she was wearing an _incredibly_ revealing piece of lingerie.

"... We can both sleep here tonight." Pearl smirked.

Peridot swore that if she was an anime character she'd had died of blood loss. "W-where did you...? Why are...? What is-?"

Pearl took a few steps closer and pulled herself onto Peridot's lap. Despite her cool approach, Pearl's face was flushed with red. "I take it you like my outfit, huh?"

"W-where did you even get that...?" Peridot mumbled. Before she could get a reply, she felt herself being pushed back onto the bed, Pearl looming over her like a powerful succubus, red hair casting down. Any further questions were immediately quelled when Pearl's lips contacted hers, and she could feel herself becoming lost in the passion of it all.

After a few seconds her mind decided that, as fun as this was, it was time to get some answers, and crashed back into full function. "Wait..." She muttered as she broke the kiss off.

Pearl pulled off slowly. "Is... Everything alright, Peridot?"

"I don't know, this just feels... weird. Too many questions..."

"Questions...?"

"Yeah, like "why do you have that... thing... on?', 'where did you get it?' and 'what made you think this was a good idea?'."

Pearl looked hurt at the last question. "I... I thought you'd like this."

"Hey, believe me, I like it a lot. But... Not for our first time. Not like this."

"Oh..." Pearl pulled herself up and sat next to Peridot, wrapping herself in her arms. "W-well, there goes that plan."

"You alright...?"

"Yes, I'm doing fine." She shiverred. "Just cold. Note to self, don't _deliberately_ freeze my room just so wearing a large coat isn't weird."

"Heh, yeah, good idea." 

"Well, n-now what?" 

Peridot smiled, unzipping her hoodie (revealing a shirt with the decal of a double-headed eagle) and tossing it aside. "Well, I reckon we can both be cold together." She reached over and grabbed the edge of Pearl's lingerie, slowly lifting it off. "Here, lemme help you with that."

Pearl lifted her arms to make it easier for Peridot. Peridot's eyes, once the attire was off and her arms were back down, carefully scanned her slender body, before leaning into another kiss. This time, Peridot returned the enthusiasm, with barely a few seconds passing before their lips parted and their tongues mingled in a passionate dance. Peridot wrapped her left arm around Pearl, drawing her closer, while her right hand gently pressed against Pearl's chest. This elicited a quiet, sharp moan from Pearl, who pulled in with more energy.

After a good few minutes of kissing and rubbing, Pearl leant back, breathing heavily. "Shoes off, please."

Peridot deftly pushed her boots off with her feet, before she felt Pearl's arms sliding under her shirt. With assistance she pulled her shirt off, revealing a very plain black bra that too didn't stay on for very long. Pearl once again leant in for a kiss, this time guiding Peridot onto the bed properly and pressing her petite frame onto Peridot's slightly-less-so one. Peridot could feel her mind racing as the sensation of someone else's bare flesh and weight against her own doubled her enthusiasm.

Pearl pulled from the kiss much earlier than Peridot was happy with. With a sly grin she planted a kiss on Peridot's neck, eliciting a gasp from her. She continued to do so, going further and further down until finally she reached the edge of her slightly-worn jeans. Grabbing the edge of both the jeans and whatever underwear she was wearing, she slowly pulled them down while resuming her kissing, until finally Peridot's moist nethers were clear of clothing. "By the way, if you want me to stop at all, let me know."

Peridot breathed heavily. "I'll keep that in miiiiIIIAAAAHHH~!" Peridot gripped the white sheets of the bed tight as Pearl pressed her lips against her clit. "Oooooh my God~!"

Pearl chuckled, before running her tongue along her slit a couple of times. Each time, Peridot shuddered as pleasure wracked her frame. 

"O-oh ffff...!" Peridot stammered as Pearl continued, getting more enthusiastic. "Don't ever stop..."

And stop Pearl did not, instead she switched her technique, focussing solely on her clit with short, sharp strokes. 

This sent Peridot's mind into overdrive, as she grabbed Pearl's head and held her close. This didn't even seem to slow Pearl down, merely drive her further. "Hhh... I'm...!"

With little warning Pearl poked a finger around Peridot's entrance before pushing it in gently. This tipped Peridot over the edge, her entire body shuddering as she cried out in ecstacy. Eventually she stopped, breathing heavy as she stared aimlessly towards the ceiling.

Pearl moved herself up, laying beside Peridot. "So, did you enjoy yourself?"

"My God, I haven't felt that good since Lapis..." Peridot managed to say between breaths. "Gimme a minute, I should be good to return the favour..."

"No rush, Peri." Pearl replied, pecking her cheek. 

After a few minutes passed, Peridot sighed. "Well, I'm ready. Are you?"

"More than." Pearl lay down on her back. "Do with me as you wish."

Peridot smiled, shifting closer to her side and tracing her stomach with her organic arm, before trailing down until her fingers brushed against Pearl's damp slit, a muffled moan coming from her. "Wow, you're quite wet down their."

"It's because you're so beautiful~" Pearl replied.

Peridot smiled. "As are you. Now..." She ran her finger against her slit a couple of times. 

"Oh~!" Pearl gasped. "Fffuck that's good..."

Peridot repeated herself many more times, changing direction, intensity and finger quantity in a regular pattern. She built a rhythm in her head and kept to it, speeding it up ever-so-slightly with each pass. The effects didn't go unnoticed, as Pearl became louder and, much to Peridot's surprise, more vulgar.

"Haahh... S-shit... C-come on, Peri...~" Pearl managed to gasp out. "Enough with the teasing, just- Oh fuck~! -ram your fingers inside...!"

Peridot oblidged, isolating her middle finger and, after a second of searching, thrust it inside. Pearl screamed loud, arching her back slightly. "Ooh, you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine...!"

Peridot continued her machinations, quickly thrusting her finger in and out repeatedly. She stopped for merely a second just to get her ring finger in, thrusting that in with as much enthusiasm as the others.

"O-oh yes!" Pearl stammered, propping herself up a little. "F-fuck me with those magic fingers of yours~!"

Another finger was added to the mix, and Peridot didn't slow her pace. Her arm was getting exhausted, a problem she wouldn't have had with her prosthetic arm, but she refused to slow down.

"Ah~! I-is that all you've got, Peridot...? Ah, son of a bitch..."

Peridot slowed for a moment, smirking wide. Then, clasping all of her fingers together and hovering her thumb just above her clit, she rammed almost her entire hand into Pearl's nethers, her thumb pressing hard against her clit.

This sudden wave of pleasure crashed Pearl right into her climax, and with an arching of her back she screamed, eyes rolling back as her mind blanked. Peridot could feel her hand getting soaked more than it already was, until finally Pearl fell limp, breathing heavily. She yelped slightly as Peridot withdrew.

"Wow." Peridot muttered.

"Yeah... Wow..." Pearl gasped.

Peridot pulled herself up, looking at her fluid-soaked hand. "That's... Quite impressive."

Pearl tilted her head towards Peridot, straight red hair scattered over her face. "Hahh... Oh yes, that's right... I'm what people would call... a 'squirter'..."

"Whereas I'm not." Peridot shrugged. "Doesn't really bother me, though."

"It's just biology..." Pearl pulled herself up as well. 

"I also noticed you got rather... Swear-happy."

"Oh, right. I tend to get a bit liberal with my language when I'm aroused, sometimes... and I'm a little drunk. Had a bit of a drink to boost my confidence."

"I see..." Peridot turned to Pearl, flicking girlcum off her hand. "So, do you wanna keep going and finish this with a coup de gras or have you had enough for tonight?"

"Let's finish this. Just... Give me a minute."

"Better start soon, I'm getting a bit cold."

"Same here." Pearl leant onto Peridot, and the latter could hear her heartbeat slowly calming down, and could feel her own matching up. "Okay, I think I'm good now."

"Superb. So, top or bottom?"

"I think I'll go top."

"As you wish." Peridot slid down, guiding Pearl on top of her. The two of them pressed their lips together for a few seconds before Pearl adjusted herself and pressed her nethers against Peridot's, gasping and gripping on the bedsheets tight. "You alright, Pearl?"

"Yes, just... a little sensistive from before." After a second she started slowly grinding against Peridot, the two of them moaning quietly. "O-oh my stars, this is better than I could've thought...!"

"F-first time? Ah~!" Peridot asked, placing her hands on Pearl's small rear.

"Yes... O-oh goodness~ Y-you?" Pearl replied, speeding up a little

"Nope... I- Mff-! -Did this a couple of times before..." Peridot replied, grabbing onto Pearl's chest with her organic arm.

"W-well, I'm... Hahhh~! Glad you're the one I'm doing this with first..." Pearl leant a little closer, getting faster still.

"H-how do you know what to... Fff-! Ww-what to do?" Peridot gasped, moving her hips in time with Pearl's rhythm.

"I-I've... Sh... W-watched a couple of things... Ah... And read a few stories..." Pearl replied, her movements starting to rock the bed.

"A-A frequently unreliable source, b-but-"

Pearl leant close, her face only a few centimetres away from Peridot. "Just s-shut up and fuck me...!"

Peridot didn't say anything, instead continuing to counter-grind against Pearl. She could hear the wet slaps of their thighs hitting each other, each thrust sending a wave of pleasure surging through her body.

"O-oh God... I..." Pearl suddenly sped up. "I'm gonna...!"

Peridot matched her pace, her arms moving to whatever they thought was a good spot to go. "G-gah-!"

"I'm... I'm gonna cum...! I-" Pearl screamed in ecstacy, grasping the bedsheets tight. At the same time Peridot hit her climax, biting her lip as her body convulsed with waves of pleasure. Eventually Pearl fell limp as the rest of her orgasm played out quietly, falling onto her side next to Peridot.

"Oh my God..." Peridot gasped. "That was the best sex of my life."

Pearl mumbled something incoherent. Peridot could see exhaustion setting into her eyes.

"Hmm... Perhaps we should call it for the night, huh?"

"Good idea..." Pearl yawned. "Blanket's under bed..."

Peridot pulled a nice, large and warm blanket from underneath the bed. "This'll do nicely." She flicked it out and covered Pearl and herself with it, the warmth of it quickly setting in.

As she got herself nice and comfortable, she felt Pearl's arms wrap around her, and a kiss on her neck. "Good night, my love."

"Night, my Pearl..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, it's been forever since I updated this. About 4 months, give or take a week or two.
> 
> Gotta admit, I had a lot of fun writing this. And this is coming from someone who doesn't write much smut to begin with. This scene's gonna be loadsafun to draw when I get around to the comic version. I know the dialogue might be a bit cheesy/too much/rather vulgar, but to be honest if you've made it through the story so far you're probably all good.
> 
> Anyways, as always, lemme know what you think. Hope I did good with this.
> 
> Also, again, sorry for the supreme delay. Got distracted, sidetracked and interested in other things for a long while. The new StevenBomb plus Lapis-related rumours really got my SU-creativity rolling again.
> 
> No guarantees on when a new chapter will be out. Might be tomorrow, might be half-way through the year.


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